Massachusetts Democrat Governor Maura Healey signed legislation that eliminates the state’s specific statutory restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks. Under the new law, decisions regarding post-24-week abortions are placed “under the professional judgment” of the performing physician. A foolish move.
“In Massachusetts, women and their families shouldn’t have to cross state lines for abortion care doctors can provide in our state. Today, I signed a law so they won’t have to,” Healey (D-Mass.) posted on X. “Real freedom means health care decisions belong to women and their doctors. Not their government.” According to the previous law, restrictions were placed on abortions after the 24-week period, when the baby is generally considered to have reached the stage of viability outside the womb.
After that mark, the previous law read that “no abortion may be performed” except for certain exceptions: When it is “necessary to preserve the life of the patient … the patient’s physical or mental health,” “warranted because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis,” or “because of a grave fetal diagnosis that indicates that the fetus in incompatible with sustained life outside of the uterus without extraordinary medical interventions.” The new law reads that after the 24-week period, “an abortion may be performed by a physician based upon the professional judgment of the physician.”
“I’ve heard heartbreaking stories from women and families who were preparing to welcome a healthy baby into their family, only to receive devastating news later in their pregnancy. Instead of being able to rely on the doctors they knew and trusted at home, they were forced to travel hundreds of miles and pay out of their pockets while navigating unimaginable grief,” said Healey, according to a press release. Reproductive Equity Now, an organization that seeks to advance “reproductive health care” and abortion access in New England, advocated for the legislation and shared a story from board member Kate Dineen, who received a late-term abortion out of state.
“After receiving a devastating fetal diagnosis in 2021, I was forced to travel to Maryland for compassionate and costly abortion care. It is heartbreaking and infuriating to know that other families continue to face this same fate because of our state law,” Dineen said. “As the Trump Administration threatens to criminalize travel and shutter all-trimester clinics, the stakes are infinitely higher and Massachusetts has a moral obligation to lead.” However, the pro-life organization Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL) explained the developmental state of a fetus at 24 weeks, noting that survival is possible outside of the womb.